Republican AGs group sent robocalls urging march to the Capitol

Republican AGs group sent robocalls urging march to the Capitol

NBC News reports: An arm of the Republican Attorneys General Association, a national group representing the top law enforcement officers in their states, sent out robocalls encouraging people to march to the U.S. Capitol the day before the building was stormed by a pro-Trump mob. “At 1 p.m., we will march to the Capitol building and call on Congress to stop the steal,” said the voice on the recording, which was obtained by NBC News. The calls, which did not…

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In Washington a GOP crisis, but the RNC is still swigging Trump Kool-Aid

In Washington a GOP crisis, but the RNC is still swigging Trump Kool-Aid

The New York Times reports: In Washington, Republicans were dealing with a burgeoning crisis in their ranks, with high-profile resignations and bitter infighting over how to deal with an erratic and isolated president. But at the Republican National Committee’s winter meeting on Friday, most party members were operating in a parallel universe. In a chandelier-adorned ballroom at the seaside Ritz-Carlton here, there was no mention of President Trump’s disruption of the coronavirus relief package or his phone call to the…

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Terrorists unleashed inside the Capitol: The masked zip-tie guys

Terrorists unleashed inside the Capitol: The masked zip-tie guys

Dan Kois writes: I can’t stop thinking about the zip-tie guys. Amid the photos that flooded social media during Wednesday’s riot at the Capitol—shirtless jokers in horned helmets, dudes pointing at their nuts, dumbasses carrying away souvenirs—the images of the zip-tie guys were quieter, less exuberant, more chilling. And we’d better not forget what they almost managed to do. It’s easy to think of the siege of the U.S. Capitol as a clown show with accidentally deadly consequences. A bunch…

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Sen. Murkowski calls on President Trump to resign, questions her future as a Republican

Sen. Murkowski calls on President Trump to resign, questions her future as a Republican

Anchorage Daily News reports: U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said Friday that Donald Trump should resign the presidency immediately and that if the Republican Party cannot separate itself from Trump, she isn’t certain she has a future with the party. “I want him to resign. I want him out. He has caused enough damage,” Murkowski, R-Alaska, said during an interview from her small Capitol office, steps away from the Senate chambers that were invaded by pro-Trump rioters on Wednesday. “I think…

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Multiple Republicans are considering supporting impeachment, sources say

Multiple Republicans are considering supporting impeachment, sources say

CNN reports: A growing number of Republicans want President Donald Trump to leave office before January 20, with some top lawmakers telling CNN they are considering supporting his impeachment. Two Republican members of Congress who are former Trump allies told CNN they would support impeachment against the President over his role in Wednesday’s deadly attack on the US Capitol if the articles are reasonable. One member said, “I think you will have GOP members vote for impeachment.” While the window…

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Trump officials rush to keep him from sparking another conflict — at home or abroad

Trump officials rush to keep him from sparking another conflict — at home or abroad

The Daily Beast reports: High-ranking national security officials have spent the last 24 hours scrambling to figure out how to keep their commander-in-chief, Donald Trump, from inciting further violence at home to spilling national secrets to sparking last-minute confrontations with international foes. The concerns in the upper echelons of the administration’s national security community range from fears inside the Pentagon that the president will do or say something that effectively throws the U.S. into a military confrontation with another country…

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Twitter bans Trump and high-profile supporters

Twitter bans Trump and high-profile supporters

NBC News reports: Twitter permanently suspended President Donald Trump’s account on Friday, citing “the risk of further incitement of violence.” The president’s account, with 88 million followers, was initially banned for 12 hours on Jan. 6 due to “severe violations of our Civic Integrity policy,” after he used the platform to tweet condemnation against Vice President Mike Pence as his supporters stormed the Capitol. “After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them we…

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Trump supporters cry betrayal as he rebukes Capitol violence

Trump supporters cry betrayal as he rebukes Capitol violence

The Guardian reports: Donald Trump’s belated “concession” to a peaceful and orderly transition of power after the storming of the US Capitol has provoked anger and conspiracy theories among some of his most ardent followers. On social media channels and chatrooms like Parler and 4chan, where far-right Trumpists have gravitated as other social media sites have increasingly shut out the president, there were complaints of betrayal. Trump claimed on Thursday that he was “outraged by the violence, lawlessness and mayhem”…

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‘I expected this as a Marine in Iraq:’ Veterans in Congress voice rage after mob storms Capitol

‘I expected this as a Marine in Iraq:’ Veterans in Congress voice rage after mob storms Capitol

Military.com reports: Veterans in Congress from both sides of the aisle called the mob that took over the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday “domestic terrorism” and blamed President Donald Trump for promoting it. Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., a former Army Ranger, said he had been prepared to use a pen as a weapon of last resort to defend himself and other House members against attackers. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., a retired Army National Guard lieutenant colonel who lost both legs in…

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FBI says there’s no evidence of antifa involvement tn the Capitol mob

FBI says there’s no evidence of antifa involvement tn the Capitol mob

BuzzFeed News reports: The FBI says there’s no evidence antifa played any role in the deadly mob that stormed the Capitol on Wednesday. “We have no indication of that, at this time,” said FBI Assistant Director Steven D’Antuono said at a Friday press briefing. A day earlier, Michael Sherwin, the acting US attorney for the District of Columbia, also said investigators had not seen evidence of antifa involvement. Their comments come after Trump supporters such as Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz…

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Can Trump be stopped?

Can Trump be stopped?

David Priess and Jack Goldsmith write: The hours since Wednesday afternoon have seen a tidal wave of calls for Donald Trump to lose the powers and duties of the office for his role in the historic storming of the U.S. Capitol. There is a new push for impeachment. And news reports suggest that members of Trump’s Cabinet are considering invoking the 25th Amendment to take from Trump, in the words of the Amendment, “the powers and duties of the office”…

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Trump prepares pardon list for aides and family, and maybe himself

Trump prepares pardon list for aides and family, and maybe himself

Bloomberg reports: President Donald Trump has prepared a sweeping list of individuals he’s hoping to pardon in the final days of his administration that includes senior White House officials, family members, prominent rappers — and possibly himself, according to people familiar with the matter. Trump is hoping to announce the pardons on Jan. 19 — his final full day in office — and his ideas are currently being vetted by senior advisers and the White House counsel’s office, the people…

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Trump’s remarks before Capitol riot may be investigated, says acting U.S. attorney in D.C.

Trump’s remarks before Capitol riot may be investigated, says acting U.S. attorney in D.C.

The Washington Post reports: The top federal prosecutor in Washington D.C. said Thursday that President Trump was not off limits in his investigation of the events surrounding Wednesday’s riot at the U.S. Capitol, saying “all actors” would be examined to determine if they broke the law. Asked if federal agents and prosecutors will look at the incendiary statements made by speakers at Trump’s rally shortly before a mob of his supporters breached security at the Capitol and wreaked havoc inside,…

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Wall Street Journal calls for Trump’s resignation

Wall Street Journal calls for Trump’s resignation

In an editorial, the Wall Street Journal says: [O]n Wednesday the leader of the executive branch incited a crowd to march on the legislative branch. The express goal was to demand that Congress and Vice President Mike Pence reject electors from enough states to deny Mr. Biden an Electoral College victory. When some in the crowd turned violent and occupied the Capitol, the President caviled and declined for far too long to call them off. When he did speak, he…

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Danforth calls his support of Hawley the ‘worst mistake’ of his life

Danforth calls his support of Hawley the ‘worst mistake’ of his life

Remember what Hawley did:https://t.co/jIAUFdNimD — Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) January 6, 2021 Tony Messenger writes: Former U.S. Sen. John C. Danforth saw a mob of rioters take over the Senate chamber where he had spent much of his professional life. The dean of the Missouri Republican Party was a member of the Senate between 1976 and 1995. “That place,” he said of the Senate, “is very familiar to me. To see it under attack was awful. It was unimaginable.” Like the…

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Republican voters evenly divided in support or opposition to storming of the Capitol building

Republican voters evenly divided in support or opposition to storming of the Capitol building

YouGov reports: A YouGov Direct poll of 1,397 registered voters who had heard about the event finds that most (62%) voters perceive these actions as a threat to democracy. Democrats (93%) overwhelmingly see it this way, while most (55%) Independents also agree. Among Republicans, however, only a quarter (27%) think this should be considered a threat to democracy, with two-thirds (68%) saying otherwise. In fact, many Republicans (45%) actively support the actions of those at the Capitol, although as many…

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